This invention pertains to word processing and more particularly to apparatus and methods of formatting characters on a record medium or display device such as a cathode-ray tube display.
In word processors such as text editors an operator at a keyboard or a remote terminal transmits codes representing characters to a display device such as a cathode-ray tube display. The characters are entered a line at a time and displayed for possible editing or formatting.
In a typical operation the operator will insert text which must be hyphenated when the end of a line is reached. Therefore, a common technique is for the operator when approaching what is thought to be the end of the line to insert hyphens between the syllables of long words. Such hypens are called weak or optional hyphens. When the text is displayed, these hyphens are displayed only if they occur within a certain number of character positions from the end of the line. On the other hand, there are hyphens which occur in numeric information which are associated with code configurations such as part or catalog numbers or are actually minus signs. Such hyphens must be displayed under all circumstances and are called strong or mandatory hyphens. Heretofore, the keyboard was provided either with separate keys for each type of hyphen or a single hyphen key plus a second key which is simultaneously pressed with the weak hyphen key to indicate a strong hyphen. Such solutions lead to added complications for the operator.
A second complication is associated with the centering of a string of characters about a point such as "the middle of the page" on a line of the text. Heretofore, the operator would count the number of characters in the string and perform the necessary calculations to determine where to start the string so that it was centered.